contest over! blankie over!

Wow! I had 227 people guessing on what my polka-dotty items might be. I won't announce any winners until I can paw through the MDK Hefty Bag. Hopefully, it will arrive soon :)

In the meantime, I can tell you which of your guesses are NOT correct. Those pink and white gizmos are not any of the following items:

• martian whoopie pies or cake stands
• polymer clay drop spindles (interesting idea though!)
• world's craftiest hubcaps
• George Michael's earrings
• party hats for trolls
• decorative manhole covers
• creative hockey pucks
• beer bottle cap cozies
• pasties -- WTF?? (more than one of you guessed this too!)

In between reading -- and laughing at -- all of your guesses, I did get some stuff accomplished this weekend ...

First and foremost, the big orange blankie is done!


Project specs:
Pattern: Hearts and Stars blanket from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits for Tots
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, color Wild Orange
Needles: Size 6 Addi Turbos
Gauge: 20 sts/4 in (or 20.5, maybe)

It doesn't look so big all folded up, but I'll have to wait until I can get a photo with its recipient. Then, it will look big in comparison to him!

After the blanket, I made a few more notebook covers. The two on top are new. The stripes are from Amy Butler's Charm collection, and the colorful circley things are a Kaffe Fasset print.


Then, I used the leftover Fasset print to make a case for my new reading/knitting glasses. It's quilted and cute, but a little bit big. And, the edging is poorly sewn. So, there might be more of these in my future!


Remember when I said that "I promised myself that I would finish 5 things on my WIP list before starting anything new. These are the 5 that I decided to finish..."?

Well, here's the scoop:

• the orange baby blanket -- DONE!
  
• a poncho for grandma -- started, but I made a mistake and need to rip back (grrr...)
  
• pink and green skirt -- I decided not to make this one right now, since summer is almost over
  
• Hooray for Headbands -- DONE!
• Fountain Lace cardigan -- back and sleeves done, fronts started -- I need to rip the back to the armholes, though (grrr again ...). I think it's just going to be too short. I need to add at least another inch.
  

Obviously, I was not faithful to the list, since I've whipped up some notebook covers and eyeglass holders too. But, this nice "list of 5" has kept me focused on the things I need to finish. I'm going to try to keep an ongoing "list of 5" so that I can pick and choose, and have some knitting and some sewing in the mix.

I'll relax the "no new projects" rule just a little bit -- if I can whip it up in a night or on a weekend, I won't count it as a WIP for the "list of 5". If it involves multiple days of crafting, it's a list-er.

So, here is the new "List of 5" for the forseeable future:

• a poncho for grandma
  
• Fountain Lace cardigan
• Denyse Schmidt potholders (umm, did I mention that I started these???)
• Baudelaire socks for MIL's christmas gift -- I've finished 5 lace pattern repeats on each sock -- one more and I can start the gusset
• another sewing project -- probably a quilt with some leftover fabric from this doggie blanket -- I have a plan, but I won't tell you until I know if it will work!

Stay tuned for updates on the contest winners!